Saved by the last 4 females from "the Apocalypse of this species": The Norfolk Parakeet (Cyanoramphus cookii), also called Tasman Parakeet, Norfolk Island Green Parrot or Norfolk Island Red-crowned Parakeet. WWF maximum cards about Norfolk Island.

C is for...cookii.

"The Norfolk Parakeet (Cyanoramphus cookii), also called Tasman Parakeet,^[1] Norfolk Island Green Parrot or Norfolk Island Red-crowned Parakeet, is a species of parrot in the Psittacidae family. It is endemic to Norfolk Island (located between Australia, New Zealand and New Caledonia in the Tasman Sea)."

Breed, baby, breed!

"This species of parakeet was down to only 4 breeding females and 28-33 males in 1994, but its population has since rebounded to 200-300 birds. It is only found in Norfolk Island National Park and the surrounding area."

Wrap your brain around this:

"Genetic reconstruction

Further information: Archaeogenetics and Early human migrations

Two pieces of the human genome are quite useful in deciphering human history: 

mitochondrial DNA and the Y chromosome. 

These are the only two parts of the genome that are not shuffled about by the evolutionary mechanisms that generate diversity with each generation: 

instead, these elements are passed down intact. 

According to the hypothesis, all people alive today have inherited the same Mitochondria^[26]from one woman who lived in Africa about 160,000 years ago.^[27][28]

She has been named Mitochondrial Eve. 

All men today have inherited their Y chromosomes from a man who lived 60,000 years ago, probably in Africa. 

He has been named Y-chromosomal Adam."

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Recent_African_Origin

==============

Happy PFF (Postcard Friendship Friday)!

Please visit: http://thebestheartsarecrunchy.blogspot.com/ (wait until Beth posts the today's Linky tool for the meme, then make your entry, if you want to join).

Libya's Terrorism Option - read from STRATFOR. Also, somebody said that sometimes,"terrorism is the poor man's revenge", just like, sometimes, "rape is the ugly man's revenge". Sure, many exceptions apply. Also, a metaphoric image for a crowd that may resort to a terrifying stampede out of fear and anger. "Prosti, dar multi!" Never MISUNDERESTIMATE [that's a BUSHism] a crowd, which gets dangerous when desperate.

Libya's Terrorism Option

A metaphoric image for a crowd that may resort to a terrifying stampede out of fear and anger. 

"Prosti, dar multi!" 

Involuntary comedy, courtesy of translate.google.com, who believes it should translate the above quote like this:

Italian to English translation

"Prost, create multi!"========In fact, it should translate it from Romanian, into:"Stupid, but many!"That's a literary quote, meaning "yes, they are stupid, but they are many!" :)

Never MISUNDERESTIMATE [that's a BUSHism] a crowd, which gets dangerous when desperate.

Part 2 - Side-by-side comparison between European bison (Bison bonasus) and American bison (Bison bison). WWF maximum cards / maxicards / dorincards with European Bison / Wisent from Lithuania. Also, an AUROCHS look-alike image.

"The wisent (pronounced /ˈviːzənt/) (Bison bonasus), also known as the European bison, is a species of Eurasian bison. It is the heaviest surviving land animal in Europe; a typical wisent is about 2.8 to 3 m (9 to 10 ft) long and 1.8 to 2.2 m (6 to 7 ft) tall, and weighs 300 to 920 kg (660 to 2,000 lb). It is typically lighter than the related American Bison (Bison bison), and has shorter hair on the neck, head and forequarters, but longer tail and horns.

Wisent were once hunted to extinction in the wild, but they have since been reintroduced from captivity into several countries in Eastern Europe. 

They are now forest-dwelling. 

They have few predators (besides humans), with only scattered reports from the 1800s of wolf and bear predation. 

Wisent were first scientifically described by Carolus Linnaeus in 1758. 

Some later descriptions treat the wisent as conspecific with the American bison. 

It is not to be confused with the aurochs, the extinct ancestor of domestic cattle."

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/European_bison

WHAT THE HECK cattle is intended for, is specifically for reconstituting the extinct AUROCHS.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Heck_cattle_male.jpg

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aurochs

Now let's see if I can find in my collection American bison MCs that are somewhat similar with the European bison MCs above, in the animal posture from those images.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_bison

Once again, for close comparison, without much scrolling:

===================

Please visit and join The Guest Heart Thursday meme!

http://clytie-randomhearts.blogspot.com/

Welcome to Guest Heart Thursday -
A place to share YOUR hearts!

My entry for today is a heart hollow contour that looks like it's spray-painted, having also a symbolic gunshot [how about shotgun?] wound at the top of the heart.

Now you tell me in which of those 4 MCs from Lithuania you see that, and where exactly in that image?

:)

If I can see it, then ANYBODY can see it.

[As if I am at the bottom of the totem pole...] :)

The most damaged postcard that I ever received! HOW TO avoid getting damaged postcards or maximum cards, with over-cancelling, scratches and missing chunks/corners?

I share here some useful info from the postcard exchange great website http://www.forum.postcrossing.com, where my username is dorinco.

That is also my username for the primary website http://www.postcrossing.com.
This website is good - it facilitates "blind" (you don't choose your partner) exchanges of postcards with addresses chosen at random by their computers.

But the forum http://www.forum.postcrossing.com is much better, in my opinion, because you can choose your exchange partners for postcards, stamps, maximum cards, and other items!

The messages below are about a Round Robin exchange of maximum cards - the thread path (sub-folders) is this:
Postcrossing Official Forum » General » Tags, Trades, Notebooks, Round Robins and Pen-Pals » Round Robins » NEW Maxicards/Maximum cards RR!! Group3 Need ONE for travelling!!New groups!!!(always OPEN)

dorinco [that's me, remember?] said:
"Thank you, gracefool, for the very cute MC from Gr.6!

Unfortunately, it is the most damaged postcard that I ever received! :flaming: [emoticon]

Australia Post/Adelaide put our MC face-down over a heavily-inked mailpiece, so ink migrated onto the face side of our kangaroo MC.
It also roller-stamped it across the address-side, although it says that it's PREPAID!

Then, between Australia Post and US Postal Service, a chunk was ripped of a corner!

See also some roll marks, near the left, at about 45 degrees angle.

Not your fault, but next time you either talk to your postal clerk, or you send it in a transparent bag to have the stamps on the postcard visible, or you just send it like a CIA agent - "undercover".

==========
gracefool replied:


"Dorinco - A self-made Wintery Lighthouse MC, I really love it thank you. Your cancellations are very nice.

Also, Dorin, I am so sorry about the condition the MaxiCard arrived to you in!! 
That is terrible!!! I have sent so so so many MCs and I have not had any report like this before. 
However I have received quite a few cards myself which have heavy cancellations on front and back (but not ripped), it is the risk we all take when putting mail through the postal system(s) I think. 
I have never sent in "transparent bag" before, can you explain this?"
==============
dorinco replied:

"Thank you, gracefool, I'm glad you like the unique/UNICATE/UNIKAT in the world MC that I created for you! :)

Transparent bag can be any transparent plastic bag that looks like a transparent envelope - you can cut and modify it to desired size.
After you get the needed postmarks on the due postage (that may or may not include the stamp for the MC), seal that bag with scotch tape.
Or you can use a re-sealable bag, like Ziploc - best option, since it allows postal postmarking in the arrival country, with re-insertion of your MC back in the bag to reach you.

This is a custom MC, that I made from a page from a book.
Why? Coz I like it! :)
To you (and any other viewer here) and my US Postal Service, it's just a postcard with a stamp.
It's not terribly thick, but it's thick enough to be accepted as a postcard by USPS.

Instead of mailing it as a naked postcard, subject to postal damage, I tested this: I inserted it in a transparent plastic bag/envelope and I put mailing address labels for sender and receiver (which is me in both cases) on the outside of the bag.
I could have postmarked it, but personalized stamps in USA don't necessarily require postmarking - their encrypted value (little B&W squares) is supposed to be voided by the scanner of the Post.

So I mailed it like this:

It arrived to me by mail, without any postmark and any damage.
The value of the stamp is presumably voided, as it should.

The point is that whenever you suspect that your MC sent as a naked postcard will get damaged or over-canceled, you can enclose it in a protective transparent bag, or a glassine envelope, etc.
You just tell your postal clerk that you have a "philatelic item, sent under protective cover/bag."
In USA, currently it's 98c to mail either a postcard or a First-Class (1 to 3.5oz) letter internationally, except Canada and Mexico.

The advantage of using a transparent bag instead of a normal opaque envelope is that:
you could use the maximaphily stamp as part of the postage, totaling from both sides,
IF that stamp is still valid for postage
and IF you get all the stamps postmarked with that date when you send it.

In your case, gracefool, I already had the MC stamp cancelled in December, so I had to put now 98c on the address side."

==========

Please visit http://www.wordlesswednesday.com/newhome/

Wordless is good, but if you simply look at the above images, you may miss some of the important aspects about them.

Some images are best left wordless, but some could use some meaningful words. :)

=================

Please visit and join ABC Wednesday meme!

http://abcwednesday-mrsnesbitt.blogspot.com/

Today,  J is for JOEY = baby kangaroo.

Also:

"JUNK MAIL? No, protect your mail! Don't let the Automated Postal System or the postal associates ruin your mail!" :)

Libya, the West and the Narrative of Democracy | STRATFOR. Also, a vintage B-24 bomber maximum card.

Libya, the West and the Narrative of Democracy | STRATFOR

Speaking about bombers, here's a maximum card about the WWII bomber B-24.
Notice the superb quality of the ink, in this case, that did NOT smear or smudge on the glossy postcard.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/B-24

Yes, I was talking about the country Liechtenstein, in my previous blogpost! Also, see now WWF maximum cards / maxicards / dorincards from Liechtenstein:

"Libelloides coccajus. Owlflies are dragonfly-like insects with large bulging eyes and long knobbed antennae. They are neuropterans in the family Ascalaphidae; they are only distantly related to the true flies, and even more distant from the dragonflies and damselflies. They are diurnal or crepuscular predators of other flying insects, and are typically 5 cm (2.0 in) long.

* The European Polecat (Mustela putorius), also known as a fitch, foumart, or foulmart, is a member of the Mustelidae family, and is related to the stoats, otters, and minks. 

* The European tree frog (Hyla arborea) is a small frog that can grow to a maximum length of 4.5 cm.
They are the only members of the widespread tree frog family (Hylidae) indigenous to Mainland Europe. Characteristic are the discs on the frog's toes which it uses to climb trees and hedges. There are three or four species and many subspecies:
Hyla arborea (Linnaeus, 1758) (common or European tree frog). 

* The Little Ringed Plover (Charadrius dubius) is a small plover. Adults have a grey-brown back and wings, a white belly, and a white breast with one black neckband. They have a brown cap, a white forehead, a black mask around the eyes with white above and a short dark bill. The legs are flesh-coloured and the toes are all webbed.
This species differs from the larger Ringed Plover in leg colour, the head pattern, and the presence of a clear yellow eye-ring."

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Main_Page 

===================

Please visit Ruby Tuesday meme!

My red items for today are about...Liechtenstein.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Liechtenstein

=============

Please visit and join Ruby Tuesday meme!

http://workofthepoet.blogspot.com/

Guess which country is this? Don't search anywhere - let's see if you know, or guess!

Quiz time, and no cheating allowed! :)

There are currently 193 sovereign states with general international recognition.

Plus 10 sovereign states lacking general international recognition, none of which are members of the United Nations.

Ready?

Let's start the hints about our mysterious country.

1) It maintains no military. It has NO ARMY.

So it's not DPRK/ North Korea, who reportedly has about 1 million men under arms. :)

2) Its head of state is not a dictator.

So that rules out Libya.

But that head of state has the power to hire and fire the whole government, despite public's fear that the development could invite dictatorship.

He has "an estimated wealth of USD $5 billion".

3) It is more than landlocked.

So it's not Madagascar. :)

4) It is an alpine country.

So it's not The Maldives.

"The Maldives are the smallest Asian country in both population and land area. With an average ground level of 1.5 metres (4 ft 11 in) above sea level, it is the lowest country on the planet.^[11] It is also the country with the lowest highest point in the world, at 2.3 metres (7 ft 7 in).^[11"

^{http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maldives}

5) It's "a large producer of ceramics and is the world's largest

 producer of sausage casings, potassium storage units and

false teeth."

Sausage casings? Doesn't sound like India. :)

6) It has the second-highest gross domestic product per capita in the world.

Then it can't be Kiribati.

7) It has more registered companies than citizens.

Definitely not Cuba.

==========

Which country is it?

The answer - tomorrow.

Unless you're gonna google the hell out of it...:)

World's Cutest Baby Alternates Between Terror & Delight [VIRAL VIDEO]. Also, a philatelic cover ("a symphony of blue elements") with my Big, Bad Wolf zazzle personalized stamp, that COULD be slightly more terrifying than Mommy's nose, for Baby Emerson.

See at mashable.com: World's Cutest Baby Alternates Between Terror & Delight [VIRAL VIDEO]

A philatelic cover ("a symphony of blue elements") with my Big, Bad Wolf zazzle personalized stamp, that COULD be slightly more terrifying than Mommy's nose, for Baby Emerson. 

I will mail/ post this cover today! :)

There are currently only 20 such stamps of this exact design of mine, large size, in the world.

I have previously bought a sheet of 20 stamps, medium size, of a slightly different design.

Can you spot the differences?

Se more: http://s289.photobucket.com/albums/ll201/dorincard/#!cpZZ11QQtppZZ16

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Happy Blue Monday! (meme)

Please visit:  http://smilingsally.blogspot.com/